Recent activities of the WPA Scientific Sections

The first WPA Scientific Sections were established in 1961. They are now 66, encompassing virtually all the various sub‐specialties of psychiatry. Their activities are regulated by the WPA Statutes, By‐Laws and Manual of Procedures, according to which their mandate includes: organization of scientific meetings, including symposia at WPA congresses and co‐sponsored meetings, on topics within their expertise; development of educational programs, guidelines and related scientific publications; development of proposals for adoption as WPA consensus and position statements; promotion, conduct and facilitation of international collaborative research activities; development of programs in consultation with other Scientific Sections and promotion of intersectional activities.

On the WPA website, there is a separate page for WPA Scientific Sections, where all interested people can follow their activities, considering to join one of them. Previous WPA Secretaries for Sections have done a great work in this direction ¹ , but further effort is needed in order to have the multiple activities of the Sections regularly described in that page.

In addition, WPA Scientific Sections are welcome to publish their own journals or have links with international ones. Currently, journals which to various extent are linked to WPA Scientific Sections include Journal of Affective Disorders, Psychopathology, Academic Psychiatry, History of Psychiatry, Personality and Mental Health, Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, International Journal of Mental Health, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Activitas Nervosa Superior, Psychiatry in General Practice, Transcultural Psychiatry, and Archives of Women's Mental Health.

The activities of Sections are regularly discussed in meetings of the WPA Standing Committee on Scientific Sections. Below a non‐exhaustive summary of some recent activities is provided.

Two European Union Horizon research projects are featuring the participation of several WPA Scientific Sections ² : the PSY‐PGx Consortium, focusing on the implementation of pharmacogenetics in psychiatry, and the Psych‐STRATA network, aimed at the identification of biological and clinical markers predicting resistance to pharmacological treatment.

Guided by the WPA Action Plan 2023‐2026 ³ , ⁴ , ⁵ , several educational initiatives are being implemented in the areas of perinatal psychiatry and infant mental health ⁶ , exercise and sports psychiatry ⁷ , mental health care for migrants and refugees ⁸ , personalized psychiatry ⁹ , addictive disorders ¹⁰ , anxiety and obsessive‐compulsive disorders ¹¹ , the relationship between physical and mental health ¹² , intellectual disabilities ¹³ , early intervention in psychosis ¹⁴ , climate change and mental health, advocacy and public engagement, psychiatric epidemiology, quality assurance in psychiatry, psychiatry in primary care, urban mental health, military psychiatry, human rights of older persons, evolutionary psychiatry, genomics in clinical practice, digital mental health, and childhood attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Partnerships are being fostered by WPA Scientific Sections with a range of international organizations, including the World Health Organization, the European Psychiatric Association, the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) ¹¹ , ¹⁵ .

WPA Scientific Sections are actively involved in World Congresses of Psychiatry. In the 24th World Congress of Psychiatry, held in Mexico City in November 2024, fourteen State‐of‐the‐Art Symposia and 29 Regular Symposia originating from the Sections were included in the scientific programme.

Several Scientific Sections are involved in the activities of the WPA Advisory Committee on Responses to Emergencies (ACRE), which was funded in May 2020 to provide help in coping with mental health consequences of natural and human‐made disasters ¹⁶ .

The WPA aims to contribute to the achievement of the third United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (“Ensure healthy lives and promote well‐being for all at all ages”), and the work of the Scientific Sections is being crucial in this respect. This requires a cooperation with a variety of partners, also beyond the field of public health, targeting areas such as climate action, labour, housing and education.

Promotion of healthy lifestyles and suicide prevention at the population level, and enhancement of the mental and physical well‐being in psychiatric patients and staff, are among the main priorities highlighted in the WPA Action Plan 2023‐2026 ³ , ⁴ , ⁵ , and are being a main component of the activities of many WPA Scientific Sections.

Finally, some Sections still need to be revitalized, and we are trying to create the conditions for this, under the guidance of the WPA Executive Committee and the leaders and members of all the Sections.